Mayor, city councilman to run for re-election

Those were the words delivered by Craig Mayor Don Jones and city councilor Joe Herod on Wednesday when the two incumbent officials were asked of their 2007 re-election plans.

"I've got some things that aren't finished yet," said Jones, a first-term mayor elected in April 2005.

"It takes two to three years just (to get acclimated)," said Herod, a first-term councilor elected in April 2002. "You need to run again just to finish what you started."

Seats held by Jones, Herod and councilors Tom Gilchrist and Kent Nielson are expiring and will come up for vote on the April 2007 ballot. Gilchrist and Nielson are term-limited, meaning the seven-member council will have at least two new faces taking office next spring.

Mayors serve two-year terms and are allowed three consecutive terms before limitations take effect. Councilors are allowed to serve two consecutive four-year terms.

Jones will deliver a state of the city address in January. In a precursor to that address, the mayor described the city as in "good shape," evidenced by increasing sales tax figures and commercial and residential growth.

"We have steady growth," Jones said. "And I'd rather have steady growth than another boom or bust."

Still, the mayor is not running without an agenda in 2007. He listed upgrades to the city's water plant and seeing through an expansion of the Elkhead Reservoir as goals for next year.

Herod wants a similar outline of municipal achievements.

He said the upgrades to the water plant, possibly to the sewer plant and working on the urban development boundaries would be priorities for next year.

"We've got to keep the city going," he said. "My goal is just to make the city as good a place to live as we can."

Candidates interested in filing for the election must circulate a petition and acquire the signatures of 25 registered city voters. Petition packets will be available Feb. 2, according to the city's general election calendar, and candidates may begin circulating them on Feb. 12.

March 2 is the last day petitions may be filed with the city clerk. Petitions that are not valid will have to be resubmitted by March 12.

Joshua Roberts can be reached at 824-7031, ext. 210, or jroberts@craigdailypress.com.